The human thyroid gland is a small gland at the base of the neck below the Adam's apple. This gland, which is part of the endocrine system, naturally produces the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which are essential to the proper growth, development and function of the human body. Thyroid hormones regulate the metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. In turn, the thyroid hormone affects how these compounds produce energy. In addition to these functions, thyroid hormones have several critical functions in the human body, especially pertaining to human metabolic and cardiovascular systems. For example, production of thyroid hormone supports normal body temperature, cardiac output, a healthy heart rhythm, mood, respiratory rate, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and gastric emptying.
There are presently a number of known but unresolved problems relating to the human thyroid and in general thyroid disease and thyroid-related disorders. One condition is termed “hypothyroidism” and is due to the reduced production or utilization of thyroid hormone. When the human body's own immune system targets the thyroid gland as if it were a foreign tissue, it causes an autoimmune disorder of the thyroid gland termed Hashimoto's thyroiditis; other names for this condition include chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis or chronic thyroiditis.
Hashimoto's disease is an immune disorder and condition in which the immune system attacks the thyroid. An infiltration of “lymphoid” cells and atrophy of the tissue will eventually destroy the thyroid gland. Over time, the chronic assault from the immune system and the resulting degradation of the thyroid gland causes inflammation of the glandular tissue and suppressed thyroid hormone production. In fact, Hashimoto's disease is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States.
The deterioration of the thyroid gland is slow, and the thyroid hormones will fluctuate erratically at first swinging high and then low. This fluctuation can cause a person to be misdiagnosed with any number of psychiatric disorders including memory loss, brain fog, bipolar disease, anxiety, panic attacks, depression or insomnia. The condition of Hashimoto's is much more than a disease of erratic moods; these symptoms most often lead to the discovery of the condition at the clinic. When the immune system targets the thyroid gland for destruction, which it perceives it as foreign tissue, there is resulting inflammation. A long-term attack will lead to an underachieve thyroid gland (hypothyroidism). The patient goes from being euthyroid to clinically hypothyroid over a time frame that varies from months to years.
Symptoms of Hashimoto's and resulting hypothyroidism include:                Fatigue and exhaustion        Sensitivity to cold        Constipation or diarrhea (digestion problems)        Pale, dry skin or hair        A puffy face        Hoarse voice        Weight gain        Hair loss or thinning, or loss of eyebrows/lashes        Tenderness and stiffness in the joints        Muscle aches or weakness        Heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia)        Intestinal permeability        Pain        Depression, anxiety or mood swings        Multiple food sensitivities (due to overactive immune function)        
Hashimoto's is often detected by one of several blood tests. One of the tests measures blood levels of antibodies to an enzyme called “Thyroid Peroxidase” which is abbreviated in the medical literature as TPO. This enzyme contains a “peroxide” molecule as noted in its name “peroxidase.” Finding elevated levels of TPO antibodies correlates to Hashimoto's disease and high levels of peroxide. Reducing abnormally high levels of TPO antibodies and supporting immune function is key to getting well.
Hashimoto's affects women mostly, but can occur in men or children of any age. Other problems are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a compound, such as a dietary supplement, that specifically addresses these immune-system problems and otherwise improves upon the healthy function of both the immune system and the human thyroid gland.
Through clinical trials, certain vitamins, minerals, enzymes or other supplements known by those in the state of the art may be useful to control or reverse the harm done by autoimmune reactions to the thyroid gland. In particular, supplements containing antioxidants, proteolytic enzymes, systemic enzymes, short chain fatty acids, and minerals may help reestablish normal immune and thyroid function in Hashimoto's sufferers. In particular, proteolytic enzymes help reduce inflammation, which is very high in people with autoimmune disorders such as Hashimoto's. Proteolytic enzymes clean the bloodstream by breaking down protein based food particles which would otherwise travel through the blood and lodge in or around the thyroid.
As blood cleansers, these proteolytic enzymes offset chronic inflammation, which if unchecked can harm the thyroid gland and spark more autoimmunity. Proteolytic enzymes are important to break down foreign proteins in the blood that cause inflammation, facilitate their removal via your lymphatic system and bloodstream, and remove “fibrin” which is a clotting material; additionally, proteolytic enzymes serve the purpose of reducing edema (swelling/inflammation) of the inflamed regions such as the thyroid gland in thyroiditis conditions.
Therefore, it would be desirable to include a proteolytic enzyme such as “protease,” pancreatin or other, within a dietary supplement in order to positively influence human metabolism of thyroid hormones, and more specifically, suppress an autoimmune attack and resulting inflammatory compounds which may otherwise induce swelling and pain.
In addition to the thyroid-related problems associated with Hashimoto's, people with this condition often have severe and unrelenting food allergies due to a higher amount of intestinal permeability, which among other problems, allows immune complexes and undigested food particles to leave the tube of the gut and enter the bloodstream where immune cells perceive it as a foreign molecule (suddenly targeted to be destroyed).
The intestinal permeability makes a Hashimoto's patient more susceptible to mineral deficiencies, most notably selenium deficiency. Selenium is important to thyroid health, and thyroid hormone production. This mineral deficiency can lead to thyroid dysfunction since selenium is an essential trace mineral and a component of selenoproteins that are involved in the production of thyroid hormones and in regulating the immune response. Further, selenium deficiency is tightly correlated with elevated antibodies to the thyroid gland, namely TPO and thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies. Through experimentation it has been found that including selenium as a dietary supplement may be beneficial to people who have Hashimoto's disease.
Selenium has also been found to be beneficial to treating autoimmune thyroid disease. Recent experimentation has shown that selenium supplementation reduced TPO antibody levels in the blood, even in selenium sufficient patients. Selenium can also significantly reduce inflammatory cytokines because it is a strong mineral antioxidant.
These problems and others are addressed by the compositions and methods described in detail below.